According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), only about 3% of companies in the US offer to help employees chip away at student loans. Most of the employees currently receiving this benefit work in the public sector, such as nurses, teachers, and lawyers.

The limited number of companies offering this benefit may be in part because, unlike 401(k) contributions and tuition reimbursement (for employees who pursue degrees sponsored by their employer), student loan debt assistance is not currently tax-deductible. In fact, the amount gets taxed as income for the employee.

But a new study from personal finance site NerdWallet finds more companies in the private sector are contributing to student debt repayment for the first time. So companies that help tackle loans are rare ... but they exist.

While there isn't a comprehensive list available of every employer that includes assistance paying student loans in their benefits packages, here are seven who do or will begin in the next few months — from six-person startups to international corporations.

Employees who face student loan debt will receive an annual contribution of $1,000 towards paying off their debt. There is no limit on how many years they can receive this benefit, as long as they are still employees and they still owe student debt. Chegg partnered with Tuition.io to deploy this benefit.

"This benefit is evidence that we are willing to put our money where our values are and we certainly hope that many more companies offer this benefit — because with more than $1.2 trillion in outstanding student debt, this is not a problem that can fix itself," Usher Lieberman, vice president of communications, told Business Insider.

Chegg has about 350 US employees, and 20% of those eligible for the benefit are participating. The benefit has been in effect since 2015.

Fidelity Investments

"As a financial services firm, this was really concerning to us and we felt that providing a benefit like student loan repayment assistance helps us to address a very real financial concern that is impacting our employees directly," Fidelity representative Alicia Curran Sweeney told Business Insider about the company's realization that many debt-holders have to put off major life decisions as they divert money toward their loans.

Full-time employees with more than six months of tenure are eligible for the benefit, but if an employee chooses to continue their education and sign up for the company's Tuition Reimbursement Program, they will not be eligible to receive a Fidelity contribution from the Step Ahead Student Loan Assistance for the same loan.

CommonBond

The technology-enabled lender, which currently focuses on student lending, offers its 90 employees $1,200 a year towards their student loan debt.

More than half are taking advantage of this benefit, according to Phil DeGisi, chief marketing officer for CommonBond. There is currently no cap on how much assistance they can get.

"It's an investment in people," DeGisi said, when asked about whether the benefit would be expensive for the company. "It's a competitive rate for top talent. It's important for us to get the best talent, and for us to retain that talent."

Any employee at CommonBond with outstanding student loans qualifies for the benefit, regardless of their level and how long they've been employed.

LendEDU

The current benefit offers employees $200 a month toward student loan debt. There is currently no cap for that benefit because "we want to use it as a tool to retain our employees," Nate Matherson, CEO of LendEDU, told Business Insider.

Natixis Global Asset Management

The asset management company has 3,500 employees globally, and its US office in Boston, Massachusetts currently has 500 employees. The company contributes a total of $10,000 towards an employee's Federal Stafford or Perkins loans, according to the SHRM.

Employees who have been with the company for five years or more are eligible for $5,000 towards their debt, and will have an opportunity to earn an additional $1,000 each year for five years after that. The loan repayment benefit is has not yet begun — it will roll out this July.

"We are doing everything we can to point our employees towards a good financial future," Elizabeth Bartlett, Natixis' vice president of public relations, told Business Insider. "It's not costly if you look at the good will and motivation we have as a financial service company."

After Gray Powers, vice president of sales at Powertex, saw the massive amount of money employees pay towards student loans each month, he really wanted to do something about it. He came up with the idea of helping employees with student loan debt, Powertex told Business Insider.

"We wanted to offer a benefit that was meaningful, since a majority of our workforce is recent graduates," accountant and HR assistant Rebecca Hintzman said.

Full-time employees who received an associate's degree or higher and have loans under their name will be eligible for the benefit. The loan repayment benefit will be implemented in May. Employees who sign up then will their first payment by July.

Pricewaterhouse Coopers

This global consulting and accounting firm is offering a benefit known as the Student Loan Paydown (SLP), which offers $100 a month towards employees' student loan debt for up to six years or when the employee is promoted to manager level, whichever comes first.

According to Michael Fenlon, PwC's global talent leader, the amount could have a value of $10,000 (because of interest on the principal amount) and help shave off 2-3 years of payments.

PwC is offering the Student Loan Paydown because our people have told us that it's an issue that matters to them," said Fenlon. "It ties to a bigger commitment at our firm, and it's our goal to help solve important problems for our clients and society. We think student debt is a major societal problem, and we want to be leaders in helping to solve it."

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